168 PROTEIN POISONS 



axis. Within forty-five minutes its rectal temperature 

 had fallen to 96 F. and it was found dead the next morning. 

 Postmortem showed a hemorrhagic peritonitis. Pig No. 163, 

 weight 535 grams, received 45 mg. of the cellular substance 

 December 18. Its subsequent treatment and its results 

 were the same as recorded of the preceding animal. Pig. 

 No. 151, weight 555 grams, received, December 18, 125 

 mg. of the cellular substance. Twenty-three days later 

 it had intra-abdominally a large loop of the avirulent 

 culture. It died within sixteen hours and showed a 

 hemorrhagic peritonitis. 



If we interpret these results correctly we infer that the 

 cellular substance had sensitized these animals and that 

 the bacilli of the second dose were broken up so rapidly and 

 their poisonous constituents set free so speedily that the 

 animals died. If this interpretation be correct, there 

 remains at least the possibility that there may be found 

 in the bacillary substance some constituent that may 

 stimulate the cells of the animal body to split up and 

 destroy tubercle bacilli. We will return to this before 

 we close. 



The Effect of the Cell Poison on Animals. This body, 

 obtained by splitting up the cellular substance with alkali 

 in absolute alcohol, is, like all similar bodies that we have 

 obtained from bacterial, vegetable, and animal proteins, 

 a poison. It develops the three stages of peripheral 

 irritation, partial paralysis, and terminal convulsions. 

 When given in sufficient quantity it kills within an hour 

 both healthy and tuberculous animals. When given to 

 healthy animals in very small repeated doses it has no 

 visible effect. In larger repeated doses it causes in healthy 

 animals a condition of chronic intoxication characterized 

 by loss of flesh and general marasmus. When given even 

 in very small repeated doses to tuberculous animals it 

 intensifies the tuberculous process, and in all cases the 

 treated animals die before the controls. There is no evi- 

 dence that it elaborates any antitoxin, and it is harmful, so 

 far as our experiments show, and we have made many with 



